Why Norris escaped a penalty for controversial Tsunoda fight

Lando Norris escaped a penalty for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda off the track during the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris won his first F1 world championship by finishing third in a tense and dramatic season finale at Yas Marina.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the race, but third place was enough for Norris to seal his maiden drivers’ crown by just two points at the end of an enthralling 24-round season.

One key - and controversial - moment of Norris’s race came on Lap 23 when the McLaren driver got past Tsunoda.

Red Bull told Tsunoda to try and slow Norris down in a bid to help teammate Verstappen’s fading title bid, and the Japanese driver didn’t make things easy for the Briton.

Having told Red Bull over team radio that he “knew what to do”, Tsunoda weaved down the back straight in an attempt to break the row as he came under pressure from Norris.

Norris went down the inside but was forced off the track, with all four of his wheels going over the white line boundary.

Both drivers were investigated for the incident, but Norris was exonerated for completing the move off track because the stewards’ felt Tsunoda had driven erratically.

“The driver of Car 4 overtook Car 22 off track, however this occurred because the driver of Car 22 made multiple moves defending his position against Car 4,” the stewards’ report read.

‘Had Car 22 not made those moves, Car 4 would have overtaken it without going off track but moved off track to avoid contact with Car 22.

“Further, the driving standards guidelines provide that if a car is 'forced off' (which was effectively what occurred here) it is not considered to have exceeded track limits.

“Whilst technically the overtake took place off track, we determine in view of the above, to take no further action.”

Why Tsunoda was penalised

Tsunoda was punished for making “more than one change of direction” in defending his position and handed a five-second time penalty.

“Car 4 was making an overtaking move on Car 22. Car 22 made a number of changes of direction which ultimately resulted in Car 4 having to go off track to avoid a collision,” the stewards’ explained.

“In doing so, Car 22 also effectively forced Car 4 off the track.”

Tsunoda also received one penalty point on his licence, taking him up to eight for the current 12-month period.

In his final race for Red Bull and potentially in F1, Tsunoda finished 14th.

Tsunoda reacted with shock at the penalty, but McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown had no doubts about the outcome. 

"I think it was clearly the right decision. That was a dangerous and unnecessary manoeuvre," Brown told Sky Sports F1. 

“It's a team sport, so I'm not surprised the second car is going to help out, but there's got to be a limit.

“They're not driving the car so you've got to put that one on Yuki for, in my opinion, going over the line. That was a dangerous manoeuvre, but we're all good now."